WATERBURY — Torrington's Ray Ricker finds himself in an amusing quandary at Post University. As the school's new head baseball coach, he will insist that his players get their uniforms dirtier than they ever have.

Yet should they accommodate his demands, the Eagles will make his job as school equipment manager that much more difficult. He's the one who has to wash their uniforms.

Such is the dilemma of trying to make a living in athletics at a Division II school with big aspirations. To find the opportunity for success you desire, sometimes you have to wash a lot of dirty laundry along the way. Or at least do an assortment of odd jobs.

When Ricker, 33, first accepted a position as an assistant baseball coach at Post eight years ago, he was unsure how he was going to make ends meet relying on $11 an hour as a part-time equipment manager and a small coaching stipend.

"Former athletic director Anthony Fallacaro did a great job helping out," Ricker said. "I was the head women's tennis coach for a year. I was working at basketball games, keeping score at volleyball games. I was working camps, coaching in the summer leagues. I was basically doing everything around here other than changing the toilet paper in the bathroom just trying to piece a living together."

By Ricker's third year, Fallacaro made him the full-time equipment manager and assistant baseball coach, allowing him to concentrate on his passion.

"I was always a sports nut," Ricker said. "I played every sport there was — basketball, baseball, football — and I was always crazy about it. I had dreams of playing in Yankee Stadium. When I stopped playing, the dream

See RICKER, Page 9B shifted from playing in Yankee Stadium to coaching in Yankee Stadium."

Those are big aspirations for someone who went to Wolcott Tech in Torrington because he liked the idea of splitting his time in school between classes and working on a trade. Originally intent on becoming an architect, he switched focus to graphic communications. But when it came time to graduate, he couldn't see himself going right to work.

A talented baseball catcher, he went to the University of Bridgeport and then Albertus Magnus to get a degree in communications and play ball. After graduation, he figured he'd eventually become an elementary school teacher and coach high school baseball, but then a friend told him Post coach A.J. McNamara was looking for an assistant coach and batting instructor.

He jumped at the opportunity and has since also coached summer baseball in the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the Cape Cod League. When McNamara was promoted to Post's athletic operations manager this week, Ricker succeeded him as head coach.

"He's been around a lot of competitive baseball the last few years and has worked alongside some tremendous baseball minds that have not only enhanced his knowledge of the game but also shaped his philosophy toward handling a team," McNamara said. "He didn't just exclusively work with hitters, he worked with our defense, our catchers as well as our pitchers. Some of our better years from a pitching standpoint were the years he was calling pitches. He was a catcher in his playing days. As we all know, the guys behind the plate have a big responsibility in all aspects of the game. So he's been prepping for a long time."

Ricker said he has modified his professional aspirations a bit. Rather than dreaming of managing the Yankees, he wants to eventually coach a Division I baseball team to the College World Series.

"The goal is to win here, and then if Florida State calls, I will be ready to move on," Ricker joked.

He seriously believes Post is ready to win its first Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference title with a strong returning pitching staff led by Waterbury's Evan Devico, Meriden's Don Crook and Wallingford's Mick Terzi.

"I have been preaching winning a championship since I got here, and now I think it is time we make that jump," Ricker said. "We have always been at the threshold, but didn't make that extra push, and I think we're ready to make that last step."

He believes in his ability to teach and motivate players, and thinks his summer baseball resume is building credibility for Post and making it easier to recruit. Now it is just a matter of putting it all together.

"I am going to develop an attitude change in the players while still making it fun for them," Ricker said. "We are going to approach things with a more aggressive style. We are going to get after it in the weight room. We are going to practice with high intensity and energy. There is going to be a lot more tempo to everything, and the guys are going to enjoy getting dirty."

Ricker will then enjoy cleaning those uniforms more than ever.

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